SHIFT MOVEMENT SCIENCE AND

GYMNASTICS EDUCATION

THE
GYMNASTICS
PRE-HAB
GUIDE
WHY I MADE
THIS RESOURCE
To keep this brief, I made this resource to help as many people in gymnastics as I
could. After spending the last five years talking with many people in the
gymnastics community and reflecting back on the career of my teammates and I,
I wish I had a basic guide to injury prevention and maintenance care. As a younger
coach, I was desperately looking for ways to help the gymnasts I worked with
reduce their risk of injury and stay healthy during the competitive season. The
problem is, there was so much information online that I felt very overwhelmed
and eventually just threw my hands up after a few weeks of trying to implement
new ideas. Along with this, I felt a little uneasy not knowing if the ideas or
exercises were supported by both medical science and expert coaching opinion.

On top of this, I wanted to make a resource that would not only hopefully help prevent injuries
and keep gymnasts healthy, but also directly contribute to increased performance. I find on a
weekly basis that the same issues that are contributing to an injury also directly limit skill
performance.
For example
Limited shoulder flexibility from overworked soft tissue in a male gymnast may cause local
rotator cuff irritation down the road, but it also may prevent power generation in a front
swing on parallel bars / circle on pommel horse / giant tap on high bar.
Limited glute strength and core control in a female gymnast may contribute to back pain
down the road, but it may cause limited jump and leap flexibility as well as power.
My hope is by focusing on certain “keystone” areas, we can get improvements in both health and
performance. This basic resource is a blended combination of
My experiences competing as an athlete and with my teammates for 18 years
What I heard from friends of mine that were former Olympic/Elite/College/JO Gymnasts
when talking about what they wish they had as a resources growing up
What I heard from friends of mine who are gymnastics coaches, ranging from the recreational
level to the international elite and NCAA Division 1 level
The current body of medical, gymnastics, and strength and conditioning research
My experiences over the last 5 years as a dual medical provider, coach, educator, and
researcher

My hope is that by combining all that I have seen and read, this resource hopefully be a useful tool
for gymnasts to have healthier, more successful, and longer careers in our sport.

I hope that gymnasts, coaches, medical providers, parents, and support staff can all gain value
from this, and use it as intedended based on their scope of knowledge. I will first work through
some explanations of what content is in here, then follow it with the ‘outline’ version of every-
thing, and then finally offer a more ‘checklist’ type format that people can print out and hang in the
gym, or put into individual gymnasts binders (both are recommended)

I have also included a large resources list at the end of this PDF for anyone who wants to learn
more. To prevent it being too overwhelming, I have simply moved all the scientific rational or
research for exercise selection or technique in the last few pages.

I also welcome any feedback or ways to improve it, feel free to reach out to me at
dave@shiftmovementscience.com and I will do my best to get back to you as soon as I can.

SHIFT MOVEMENT SCIENCE AND

GYMNASTICS EDUCATION
HOW TO USE
THIS RESOURCE
I tried to make this program as simple to follow as possible. It has two main
components. The first is daily maintenance care to ideally be done before practice
every day. It encompasses the most general, and the most basic, pieces to what I
feel gymnasts can do to help themselves. The second part is more specific
maintenance work separated into male vs female gymnastics. It ideally is done
2x/week in a longer 30 minute circuit.

PART 1 DAILY MAINTENANCE CARE FOR ALL GYMNASTS

The first daily maintenance care section includes

D A I LY A T H L E T E M O N I T O R I N G

Beyond any flexibility or strength drill you can find online or at clinics, by far the most important
thing I feel isn’t happening in gymnastics as regular practice is daily monitoring. You can’t improve
what you don’t measure. After reading the research in this area and having our gymnasts do this
for two years, I have found it has been the most impactful new concept we implemented. As you
will see in the daily log chart, the areas the gymnasts should note are

Resting Heart Rate

After a gymnast has settled at the gym, they will take their pulse for 30 seconds then multiplied x
2 to get a resting heart rate. Average resting heart rates are tracked day to day, to look for sudden
spikes or patterns. I usually get worried if resting heart rate climbs more than an average of 10
beats per minute in a short period of time. To read more on this concept, check click this link or the
resources at the end of this PDF for more information.
Soreness Level
For me, soreness refers to physical levels of muscle discomfort. 0/10 means that the athletes are
not sore at all and have no levels of discomfort. 10/10 means that they are incredible sore, and are
really having a tough time from all the training. Based on the responses from everyone, the time
or goal of the week/monthly training cycle, and discussion this information can be used to change
practice plans if needed or talk about optimizing athlete recovery.

Fatigue Level
For me, fatigue refers to psychological and general levels of tiredness. 0/10 means that they are
completely fresh, ready to go. 10/10 means they are absolutely exhausted, barely keeping their
eyes open and pretty gassed from training. Again, based on the responses, the time of the
week/monthly training cycle, and discussion, this can be used to change practice plans as needed
or talk about optimizing athlete recovery

Number of Hours Slept

Getting 8 hours of high quality sleep every night is by far one of the most important aspects to
recovery (along with hydration, stress management, and nutrition). I understand more than
anyone the challenge of getting 8 hours of high quality sleep living in a world of constant work
buzz, time demands, attention demands, and technology. This said, it must be a priority. This
tracking allows athletes to have some reality check moments about why they feel great or awful
in training, and also can be a huge way to open a conversation about how to work on it if needed.

General Training Journal Notes

This is more for the ‘gray zone’ of monitoring. I include this section so athletes can chat about
anything they may have on their mind related to mood, concerns about skills, things going on
outside the gym that are affecting them, and so on. I think alongside the more objective data
points above, this can help to gain insight into some more subjective aspects of how gymnasts
feel.

D A I LY S O F T T I S S U E P R E P / M A I N T E N A N C E

Every sport tends to have a natural pattern of soft tissue adaptation that occurs over time. Soccer
players and runners tend to get adaptive stiffness in the calves and hips the more they run, baseball
players tend to get adaptive stiffness in their shoulders the more they throw, and so on. Based on all
that I have read and the many gymnasts I work with each week, our sport is no different. Gymnasts
tend to get stiff in certain shoulder and leg muscles the more they train repeditive skills.
Given this and how often I see it negatively impact athletes over time, I have included general soft
tissue care protocol I feel all gymnasts should do daily before their warm up. Research suggests it
can be helpful to increase blood flow in muscles, help hydrate the muscle tissue, reduce the
perceived soreness levels, and possible increase range of motion, when used in conjunction with a
full warm up. Extra attention can be paid to certain areas of concern or previous injury, but that
should be done by a medical provider on a case by case basis.
D A I LY S T R E N G T H B A L A N C E / M U S C L E W A R M U P W O R K

Alongside the points above about soft tissue stiffness overtime, every sport also tends to have
some areas of the body that get overlooked or undertrained. Again, having seen quite a pattern
emerge from working with 100s of gymnasts, I have included some light strength and warm up
work I feel every gymnast should do.

Again, this is very basic, and very general for all gymnasts. As you will see below, this gets
expanded upon much more for male vs female gymnastics in the 2x/week program. It can then get
even more so for specific gymnasts with individual needs if warranted via medical providers or
support staff (highly recommended)

D A I LY J U M P I N G A N D L A N D I N G T R A I N I N G

Gymnastics is without a doubt a jumping and landing sport. When you look at the research on
gymnastics injury data, it’s clear to see that a huge proportion of injuries have ‘impact’ based
mechanisms as one factor. These refers to the ability to safely and effectively absorb high force
placed on the body. A few of these common issues include

Growth plate injuries (Osgood Schlatters, Severs Disease, etc)

Achilles Injuries (Severs, Achilles Tendinopathy, Achilles Tears, heel stress fractures)
Overuse and Acute Knee Injuries (patellar tendinopathy, stress fratures, bone bruises,
Meniscus tears, ACL tears, etc)
Overuse and Acute Hip/Lower Back Injuries (Femoracetabular impingement, hamstring
tendinopathy as well as Ischial Apophysitis, lower back muscle strains, possible disc or nerve
injuries from over hollow / over arch landings)

There are much more beyond this. Remember that the impact landing forces are huge in
gymnastics, despite not being able to “see” the weight with our eyes. Research has outlined that
forces anywhere from 12-17x body weight go through an athlete every time a gymnast lands,
depending on the skill and event. These landings occur thousands of times per day, week, month,
and season. Not to mention, landings are huge for skill performance. Multiple skills on floor/beam,
as well as every dismount depends on proper landing technique for optimal scoring and
performance. The more we can optimize landing technique, the better off we are.

The basic double leg and single leg squatting progressions given are lumped into one aspect of
‘neuromuscular training’ which has been one factor suggested by research to help reduce risk of

SHIFT MOVEMENT SCIENCE AND

GYMNASTICS EDUCATION
impact based injury and increase performance. There are pretty large, and pretty high quality
studies that say the proper squat based landing is ideal to help reduce force overload and injury
risk (many research studies offered in the end of this PDF).

Given the importance of jumping and landing training as one way to reduce injury risk, I
recommend they are done daily (we do them in the warm up) and that other specific exercises are
used 2x/week in the larger 30-minute circuits.

PART 2 2X/WEEK ARM CARE AND SPINE / HIP CARE PROGRAMS

The second part to this resource is based on the very different demands of male vs female gym-
nastics. It is also based on the more common issues that male vs female gymnasts face (injuries
and performance). These exercises are intended to be 2x/week, 30-minute circuits that are for
“Arm Care” (male gymnasts) and “Spine/Hip Care” (female gymnasts).

At our Sports Physical Therapy and Strength Facility, Champion PT and Performance in Boston
MA, I have worked with our team to design very comprehensive maintenance and preventative
programs for gymnasts we work. On a weekly or bi weekly bases, many male gymnasts come in for
‘arm care’ programs while many female gymnasts come in for ‘spine and hip care’ programs. We
have been able to measure some pretty big differences in how they move and feel, and they often
report that over time training and competition feels much better. We have yet to validate this
through research, but that is currently our next goal. Issues still pop up and things inevitable don’t
go perfect, but it definitely seems to make a dent in the injury rates and help athletes train the
more we evolve it.

Our arm and spine/hip care programs include everything from soft tissue maintenance, to manual
strength work, to manual dynamic stability drills, accessory strength work, recovery tools, and
more. In the summer, it also includes gymnasts coming to our facility 1x/week to do a full adjunc-
tive strength and performance program.

It’s based on what my mentors have taught me from working as Athletic Trainers/Physical Thera-
pists for professional baseball teams, and their work with many professional and NCAA athletes.
I have just adopted the model to gymnastics.

The pieces included in this resource are as much as I could offer without actually having medical
providers and strength coaches on hand to lead the program like we do at our clinic. If that is
possible in your area, I highly suggest that approach.

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Male gymnasts perform specific shoulder strength work, active shoulder flexibility drills, and
handstand / front swing specific technique applications. The female gymnasts perform specific
hip and spine strength work, active hip flexibility drills, and jump/leap specific applicatons. As with
all things, I recommend that it is further made into individual programs as coaches and medical
providers feel appropriate.

In this 2x/week section, I did not offer a specific outline or flow sheet like I did with the daily
checklist, because in reality every gym is different. Time, equipment, staff availability, and the
number of athletes are all variables that as a coach I know can be hard to manage. I just wanted to
give the concepts, exercises I felt were most effective/most feasible, and let people apply them as
they see fit.

I think the best approach is to take the list of exercises, and break them up to A and B days, to
reduce the monotony of training. Take a few exercises form each section and build them into
either a circuit or have all the athletes do them together as coaches and older athletes guide them
on the correct technique. Also feel free to tweak or add / switch ones that you feel are more
appropriate.

SHIFT MOVEMENT SCIENCE AND

GYMNASTICS EDUCATION
HOW NOT TO USE
THIS RESOURCE
Before diving more into exactly what’s in the daily and 2x/week programs, I want
to be really clear on a few things.

1. This resource in no way, shape, or form is meant to replace formal medical care. Taking this
program and giving it to someone who has ongoing pain or soreness is not only dangerous, but
morally wrong and can quickly lead to huge problems. By using this resource, you are taking on
the responsibility to make sure that no gymnasts have current injuries, pain, or medical issues.
This resource is intended for preventative and maintenance care, not rehabilitation. I trust that by
using this resource, you have your gymnasts’ best interest in mind and will not use it to replace
formal medical care.

2. Along with not being a way to replace formal medical care, this resource is also not intended to
be tailored to each individual gymnast. This is a general, and very simple program that I hope
everyone around the world can use to make progress. This being said, every gymnast should get
annual or bi annual screening done that really narrows down into their specific issues. This is
ideally done by coaches and medical providers working together. No two gymnasts have the same
anatomy, injury history, developmental age, skill profile, and goals. My recommendation is to use
the daily program on all gymnasts, the 2x/week on the group based on gender, and then also have
specific programs that are highly individualized to the gymnast. These can either replace one of
the 2x/week sessions, be done at home, or be done with a medical provider. For more on this, you
can see my entire gymnastics screening I use and download the screening worksheets for free
here,
a. Watch How I Perform Gymnastics Movement Screens : Video and Download Sheet

Lastly this resource does not replace a full, comprehensive daily warm up. Every gymnast should
be going through a proper warm up based on how their coaching staff feels fit. After the initial
learning curve and understanding the set up / break down, I have designed the daily program to
take roughly 15 minutes, and the 2x/week program to take roughly 30 minutes. If gymnasts are
spending more than that on the program, feel free to adjust as needed. I understand as a coach
there are only so many hours in the day. This said, I have found with discussion and priority
arrangement there is plenty of time during the training week to fit these in. I feel its 1 hour of the
entire training week well spent.

I personally believe in teaching the gymnasts how to take care of themselves through education
and holding them accountable to do these programs. I tell the gymnasts I work with to come to
practice 15 minutes early for their daily program or try to do it at home if they can find time during
the week. Knowing from experience, it doesn’t always fit with school and it doesn’t always seem to
pan out. However, making the attempt and getting a chunk of it done is half the battle. As for the
2x/week circuits, we use those as part of our “light day” training, or tend to also add in pieces to
either basics time, core strength circuits, and flexibility. Both of these approaches work well.
These can also be done on an off day if the gymnast really struggles to fit it in.

Lastly,

***Every exercise on this resource can be found on the (Gymnastics Injury Prevention
Guide) on my website, SHIFT Movement Science***

http://shiftmovementscience.com/gymnastics-prehab-guide/

I have tried my best to include picture as references in the charts, but I know that there is a lot in
here. Hopefully the videos on the website can either be given to athletes/coaches to look at, or
can be pulled up during training to understand how to do it. I hope it helps!

SHIFT MOVEMENT SCIENCE AND

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 D A I LY M A I N T E N A N C E / P R E P W O R K ( 1 5 - 2 0 M I N )

1. Logging of HR, 1-10 soreness, 1-10 fatigue, # hours slept, general notes about how athlete is
feeling

2. Daily Soft Tissue and Joint Care (Based on STM research and pattern of adaptation in
gymnastics) : 30 – 60 seconds per area or muscle group using lacrosse ball, tennis ball, stick,
foam roller, etc as appropriate

Forearms Inner Thigh

Lats/Teres Major Quads
Pecs Hamstrings
Thoracic Spine Ext/Rot Calves
Low Back Bottom of the feet

3. Daily Strength Balance / Warm Up Work

5 deep breaths on back focusing exhale and core neutral brace

1x10 DB ER/Y/U/Full Can
1x10 Speed Tubing ER0/IR0/ER90/IR90/Y/T/Pec for males
1x10 Sideplank Clam / Side Leg Lift / Single Leg Hip Lift with elastic band resistance
1x10 speed clam, leg lift, hip lift jump for females and standing hip circles
1x10 shin walks focusing ankle dorsiflexion
1x10 slow bear crawl front, back, right, left walks focusing neutral core with breathing,
and wrist extension
Wall/Back/Stomach Angel Progression x 10

4. Daily Jumping and Landing NM Education

3 DL squats, 3 toe ball heel landing, 3 jump and land

3 SL squats, 3 toe ball heel landing, 3 jump and land

SHIFT MOVEMENT SCIENCE AND

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 2X/WEEK ARM CARE MALES
(PLUS OTHER INDIVIDUAL SPECIFIC PREHAB) (30 MIN)

All videos can be found here -

1. Shoulder Rotator Cuff and Scap Hypertrophy Circuit

2-3x sets of 10-12 reps

Side DB ER
Prone Y
Prone T
Prone U
Standing Full Can

2. Shoulder Strength Balance Work

2-3 sets of 8-12 reps depending on athlete

Feet Elevated Horizontal Rows (+/- weight)
Renegade Rows
½ kneeling Face Pulls
Band Pull Aparts or “X” Pull Aparts
Front Rack Hold Walks (Thoracic Extension strength)

3. Active Flexibility Work

2 sets of 10 reps or 20 seconds

Wall/Back/Stomach Angel Progression x10
Shoulder Circles x10
Tucked Wall HS x10-20s
 Eccentric Chin Up Lowers
Eccentric Shoulder Ext Slides Outs
Gymnast specific handstand, pommel, pbar, ring drills as needed

4. Shoulder Dynamic Stability Work

2 sets of 8-12 reps (or 30s if time demand)

Turkish get Ups (light in bottoms up position or moderate conventional)
Band ER/IR90 and PNF with 4/8 perturbations from coach or partner
½ Kneeling DB press (reps) to OH Walk (20 seconds)
Handstand Stability Drills, 1 arm weight shifts, controlled taps on unstable surface
like floor pad/ring rockers, etc as appropriate

M A L E G Y M N A S T S A M P L E C I R C U I T A O N D AY 1

Exercise Sets Reps Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4

1A - DB ER 2 12

1B - DB Y 2 12

1C - DB T 2 12

2A - Horizontal Row 3 8

2B - Wall Angels 3 5

3A - OH Carry 3 1 lap

3B - Crab Walk 3 10

M A L E G Y M N A S T S A M P L E C I R C U I T B O N D AY 2

Exercise Sets Reps Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4

1A - DB U 2 12

1B – Standing Full Can 2 12

2A - ½ Kneel Face Pull 3 8

2B - HS 1 Arm Taps 2 10

3A ½ Turkish Get Up 3 1 lap

3B Eccentric Pull Up 4 5
 2X/WEEK SPINE AND HIP CARE FOR FEMALES
( PLUS OTHER INDIVIDUAL SPECIFIC PREHAB ) (30 MIN)

1. Hip Rotator Cuff / Glute Hypertrophy and Low Threshold Core work Circuit

2-3 sets of 10-12 reps based on athlete

Sideplank Clamshell (static or dynamic lift)
Sideplank Leg Lift (static or dynamic lift)
Standing side/reverse band walks
Deadbug progression x5 with breath cycle at end range
Bird Dog progression x5 with breath cycle at end range

2. Hip Strength Balance and Low Threshold Core Work

2-3 sets of 8-12 reps (unless time duration)

Weighted single leg hip lift
with isometric 2 second pause at top
Single Leg Deadlift
with opposite side weight in 1 hand
x30s Suitcase carry and or farmers carry
Focusing on breathing with brace in neutral
½ kneeling chops and lifts or other anti rotation exercise
Bear crawl with foam cube on back for neutral brace
Tall Kneeling Medball Throws (focusing on using shoulders, core, and hips equally)

3. Active Flexibility Work

2 sets of 10 reps
Curled Up Hip Lift Progression
Prone Reptile Slide Progression
Needle Kick Progression
Standing Hip Circles or Pyramid Lift offs
Gymnast specific jumps/leaps

4. Lower Body Dynamic Stability Work

2 sets of 5-10 based on exercise

Cube Hops with 3 s hold (progress to unstable surface)
Depth drops in mirror for landing form
SL medball wall throws (front and side) standing on unstable surface
F E M A L E G Y M N A S T S A M P L E C I R C U I T A O N D AY 1

Exercise Sets Reps Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4

1A – Sideplank Clam 2 12

1B – Sideplank Leg Lift 2 12

1C – Bird Dog 2 12

2A – Weighted Hip Lift 3 8

2B – Tall Kneel Bend Back 3 5

3A – Farmer Carry 3 1 lap

3B – Standing Hip Cirlces 3 10

F E M A L E G Y M N A S T S A M P L E C I R C U I T B O N D AY 2

Exercise Sets Reps Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4

1A – Sideways Band Walk 3 8

1B – Bear Crawl 2 10

2A – SL DL 1 arm 3 8

2B – Tucked HS 2 20s

3A Cube Hop 3 3

3B Curled Hip Lifts 3 10

SHIFT MOVEMENT SCIENCE AND

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1. DAILY MONITORING SHEETS (2 WEEKS WORTH)
Name
Week

Hours Sleep Fatigue 1-10 Soreness 1-10 Resting Heart Rate Notes / Mood

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Name
Week

Hours Sleep Fatigue 1-10 Soreness 1-10 Resting Heart Rate Notes / Mood

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

2. DAILY SOFT TISSUE AND JOINT CARE

30 – 60 seconds per muscle or area group

Mon
Tue

Wed
FOREARMS Thu

Fri

Sat

Sun

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 Mon
Tue

Wed
LAT/TERES Thu

Fri

Sat

Sun

Mon
Tue

Wed
PECS Thu

Fri

Sat

Sun

Mon
Tue

Wed
UPPER BACK
THORACIC Thu

Fri

Sat

Sun

Mon
Tue

Wed
LOWER BACK
LUMBAR Thu

Fri

Sat

Sun

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 Mon
Tue

Wed
HIPS Thu

Fri

Sat

Sun

Mon
Tue

Wed
INNER THIGH Thu

Fri

Sat

Sun

Mon
Tue

Wed
QUADS Thu

Fri

Sat

Sun

Mon
Tue

Wed
HAMSTRINGS Thu

Fri

Sat

Sun

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 Mon
Tue

Wed
CALVES Thu

Fri

Sat

Sun

Mon
Tue

Wed
BOTTOM
OF FEET Thu

Fri

Sat

Sun

3. STRENGTH BALANCE / WARM UP WORK

Mon
Tue

Wed
X5 DEEP BREATHS Thu

Fri

Sat

Sun

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 Mon
Tue

Wed
X10 SIDELYING
Thu
DUMBELL ER
Fri

Sat

Sun

Mon
Tue

Wed
X10 PRONE Y Thu

Fri

Sat

Sun

Mon
Tue

Wed
X10 PRONE T Thu

Fri

Sat

Sun

Mon
Tue

Wed
X10 PRONE U Thu

Fri

Sat

Sun

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 Mon
Tue

Wed

X10 FULL CAN Thu

Fri

Sat

Sun

Mon
Tue

Wed
X10 SIDEPLANK
CLAM Thu

Fri

Sat

Sun

Mon
Tue

Wed
X10 SIDEPLANK
LEG LIFT Thu

Fri

Sat

Sun

Mon
Tue

Wed
X10 SINGLE LEG
HIP LIFT Thu

Fri

Sat

Sun

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 Mon
Tue

Wed

X10 SHIN WALKS Thu

Fri

Sat

Sun

Mon
Tue

Wed
X10 BEAR CRAWL
FRONT, BACK, RIGHT, LEFT Thu

Fri

Sat

Sun

Mon
Tue

Wed
X10
WALL/BACK/STOMACH
Thu
ANGEL PROGRESSION
Fri

Sat

Sun

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4. STRENGTH BALANCE / WARM UP WORK

Double Leg Squat x3, Toe Ball Heel x3, Jump and Land x 3
Single Leg Squat x3, Toe Ball Heel x3, Jump and Land x 3

Video -

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1. Sands W. Injuries in Gymnastics. In Jemni M., The Science of Gymnastics: Advanced Concepts. 2018. Routledge:
New York, 283 – 310
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10. Aldridge,J.(1991).Overuseinjuriesaffectingthedevelopingskeleton:withreferenceespecially to the upper limb.
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